Three big lessons after three years of freelancing

Three years ago I said sayonara to being an employee and lept into full-time freelance life. I’d been picking up freelance copywriting jobs while in a marketing manager role, and when things got a little stagnant and I had no more room to grow, I knew it was finally time to make my side-hustle my full-time job. It’s been a wild ride.

A lot has happened since I took the leap in 2017. I’ve delivered work for more than 57 clients (and counting!), made $167K in revenue, had a handful of failed ideas, travelled to USA and Bali for work trips, moved from Melbourne to the Gold Coast, and had 6-months off to focus on my biggest project to date...raising a tiny human! 👶🏽 

It’s cool to look back and reflect on where I’m at now. It’s fair to say I’ve evolved a lot as a freelancer and a business owner. Here are three of my biggest lessons so far.

Side note: I shared 11 lessons after my first year full-time freelancing, so if you’re at this stage, check it out here.

Lesson 1: Listen To Your intuition

When I look back on the projects that haven’t gone so smoothly, I could have predicted them from the first contact call. You know the ones - the client bargains on price, questions everything, and requires constant communication. Nothing is ever really ‘right’. 

Early on, like many freelancers, I was operating from a scarcity mindset (feast or famine freelancer mode).

I’d say ‘yes’ to anything, even when it wasn’t my dream work. Looking back on this, I’m ok with that. Only because I believe you need to feel things out in the beginning, and you can learn a lot from mistakes. The ‘less than ideal’ clients and projects have helped me refine my process and taught me what I don’t want to do.

But you can’t operate like this forever.

I’m happy that I now have the confidence to say “I don’t think I’m the right fit for you” - and it doesn’t feel awkward at all.

It can be difficult to turn down money, but these intuitively ‘wrong’ jobs or clients will cost you more than money in the long run. They’ll cost you TIME. And as a freelancer, time is money.

This is where you have to trust the universe a little, shake off the scarcity mindset, and know that more ideal work will come your way.

There’s also the emotional cost of working with brands and people that you don’t gel with. You start your day dreading your to-do list, you don’t enjoy the work, and it takes longer to get done because you’re not in flow. 

So listen to that inner voice. If it doesn’t feel right, politely say no or refer them onto another freelancer who might be a better fit.

In doing so you’ll open up space on your schedule for more dream clients to enter. Often as soon as I’ve said no to one client, an amazing referral or enquiry lands in my inbox that excites me (trust that you got this)! 

Lesson 2: Niche Down

Prior to being my own boss, I’d worked my way up the corporate ladder in a range of marketing roles. I’d worked in fashion, tourism and event industries. I had to understand a broad range of marketing concepts and how they fit together. I had to research, conceptualise, create. I had to manage people, agencies, partners and internal relationships.

When I stepped out on my own, I had no idea what I wanted to focus on.

I took on social media strategy clients, brand strategy work, website projects, content marketing strategies, and of course lots of copywriting.

Mixing things up offered me variety in the early days and allowed me to find my feet. I learnt what I liked and didn’t.

But there were some downsides too.

Firstly I had to customise every quote and every onboarding process to suit the client and the project. This took time.

I also had very generalist messaging on my website, so I never became known as the ‘go-to’ for anything. And it was exhausting.

After time, I realised I had the power of choice.

I could dive into any area I wanted, I could hone in on the things that I’m passionate about and pick my own niche. 

Niching is a game-changing move.

I now choose to focus on brand strategy and copy packages - for the most part. I love working with people and brands who are striving for a better world. 

This niche is focused enough to attract like-minded humans, but also flexible enough for me to work with businesses of all sizes, from global e-commerce brands through to inspiring individuals. 

When I’ve completed a brand project with someone, I’m happy to then ride alongside them as their copywriter on other elements. This works for me. It allows me to be fully invested in someone's brand story and personality. I can nail the tone, and we work seamlessly together in an ongoing way. 

Another bonus benefit of niching down?

I’ve been selected ahead of big-name copywriting agencies for my specialist knowledge and experience with ethical and eco-conscious brands.

That feels pretty awesome.

So start carving out your own little niche - whether that’s an industry a special service or a skill. It will save you LOTS of time and help build your own personal profile.

And remember you have the freedom to change it whenever you like...you da boss.

Lesson 3: Love Money More

I’m definitely more of a ‘big ideas’ person than a ‘get lost in the details’ type. I’ve been known to put my head in the sand when it comes to money and numbers. If you asked me what I earned last financial year (or even last month) I’d have to go and look that up. 

I remember in corporate-marketing-land feeling pretty chuffed when I scored my first $100K+ salary package. But I just ended up spending more, I didn’t really value it. 

To me money is just a thing, an object.

I’ve never had a lot, but I’m always grateful for what I do have.

For years I’ve had this affirmation, “Money comes easily and frequently” (I think I got it from the book ‘The Secret’ late ‘00s). And while that’s a nice attitude to have towards money, it’s also meant I’ve had a very light and casual relationship with it. 

I’m happy with my rate, I don’t mind having difficult money conversations anymore, I value the work I do, and I can explain that value to clients (communicating your value is a whole other topic that I won’t dive into here, but it’s critical to get right).

Now three years into the freelance journey, I’m actively working on shifting my money mindset.

Why?

Because I want to love money more. 

Money is energy. It’s a financial exchange that rewards us for our skills and knowledge. And while money does NOT validate our worth as a person, it can easily get tangled up in our self-worth (due to pesky subconscious beliefs).

Have you ever underquoted a job because you’re scared the client can’t afford you?

When you underquote someone, you’re sending a message to the universe saying you aren’t worthy - harsh but true. It may also be a fear of inadequacy playing out. Energetically you’ll feel it too. You often hold resentment in those jobs and they’re never as fun as the ones you’re being paid well for.

I know because I’ve been there.

When you’re paid well you feel valued for your time, energy and effort. It feels great! 

I’m still learning about this money mindset stuff. But one thing I now know is that in business, mindset is more than half the battle.

If you spot any “bad” money habits popping up (like ignoring the numbers, undercharging, splurging as soon as a payment comes in, doing work for free etc), explore it, lean into it, and ask why. 

I’ve been reading books, working with a profit planner, seeing a subconscious healer, actively setting money goals, and actually looking at my numbers on the regular!

I want to give my money direction and use it for good. I hope that in my 5 year update I’ll be loving my money even more (and making more of it)! I’ll keep you posted.

Final say

I can’t finish this blog without sharing a couple of bonus lessons because these are important to me too…

Enjoy the journey

As cliche as it sounds, don’t forget to enjoy the journey! Knock off at 2pm, take Fridays off, say yes to brunch, go for a long leisurely walk, attend that workshop or event.

Building a business is not worth doing if you’re not enjoying yourself along the way. 

Yes times will get tough, but so are you! You’ll have to work long hours from time to time, deal with tricky situations, get rejected (resilience was one of my lessons learnt in year one), but stop and remember WHY you started.

If you’re anything like me, that was for freedom and flexibility - so build that into your business and have a little fun along the way. 

Don’t be afraid to lean on others

You really don’t have to do everything by yourself! It might feel like you do, but you don’t (this is coming from an independent rebel Aquarian).

Lean on the power of a mastermind or coworking group (like ours here at Cool Wow Collective) to find support and friendship.

Outsource the jobs you aren’t so great at to people who love them!

Hire a coach or a consultant to get you through tough mindset blocks or business challenges.

So often we feel we are the only ones who can ‘do it’ or ‘get it’, but believe me, there are plenty of people who know what you’re going through and can support you.

Find the right crew/team/tribe and I promise, you’ll get where you want to go faster (and make some awesome connections too)!

Image credit: Prue Aja Photography